Australian Cultural Evening It's not all Vegemite, crocs and beer. (We couldn't import the crocs.)

The words "culture" and "Australian" are rarely seen together, but those that have experienced an Australian Cultural Evening (ACE) are forever enriched with a special inner glow. The ACE phenomenon started at the 5th Annual WinWriters Conference way back in 1997. For no apparent reason, about 15 "Australians" (of whom just three were actual Australians) congregated and made their way from bar to bar in what is affectionately known in Australia as a "pub crawl".

 
Where it all began... some of the happy faces from 1997. 

Since that time, the ACE has staggered from strength to strength. Known for its lack of organisation and etiquette, ACE prides itself on being an unofficial and totally unauthorised part of the WinWriters event. Special dispensation has been allowed by the Australian Embassy so that all ACE participants are endowed with temporary Australian citizenship for the duration of the evening. The only qualification required is that like all Australians, you shouldn't be able to recite the words to "Advance Australia Fair".

At previous events, there have been no fatalities. However, one participant disappeared in 1999 with a fate unknown. In 2000, we celebrated the Olympics coming to Australia by hosting the ACE in Tijuana, Mexico, a $5 tram ride from the WinWriters venue in San Diego. Due to unforeseen organisation difficulties, there was no ACE in 2001, but that was made up for with a big effort in 2002, when close to 20 Aussies participated.

Here are some photos from previous efforts so that you have a taste of the evening's flavour.

 
1997 - It started off civilised...  Read the review!

 
1998 - Before the famous food fight - Read the review!

 
1999 - Louder and untidier - Read the review!

 
2000  - Off to Tijuana - Read the review!

2001 was declared a culture-free year, due to the Centenary of Federation.

2002 - Back to Seattle - Read the review!

2003 - Our Biggest Turnout Ever! Read the review

2004 - Hooray for Hollywood! Read the review

2005 - Viva Las Vegas! Read the review

2006 - Palm Springs - Closing Down the Town! Read the review

2007 - Long Beach - World Tour of Libations. Read the review

2008 - Poking Around Particular Pubs in Portland. Read the review

2009 - Clueless in Seattle. Read the review